JP7705010B2 - Packaging box making equipment - Google Patents

Description

Applicable under Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act Announced at the briefing session held by FANCL Biken Co., Ltd. on August 5, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Taiyo Package Co., Ltd. on August 12, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Shinshin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. on August 12, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. on August 12, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Yamano Co., Ltd. on September 9, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Hirono Co., Ltd. on September 14, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Gosu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. on September 14, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by O-M Machinery Co., Ltd. on October 12, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Delivered to Taiyo Package Co., Ltd. on November 17, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Nipro Pharma Co., Ltd. on December 20, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Nomura Micro Science Co., Ltd. on December 20, 2021 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by J-Dolph Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. on January 10, 2022 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Suzuki Engineering Co., Ltd. on January 19, 2022 [Publications, etc.] Announced at the briefing session held by Nordcraft Co., Ltd. on January 24, 2022

The present invention relates to a box making device that assembles packaging boxes from blank sheets.

Boxed products such as medicines and food are loaded into packaging boxes during the process of three-dimensionally unfolding the blank sheet into a packaging box and sealing the top and bottom (hereinafter referred to as "box making").
Although the box making and loading of products into packaging boxes is still largely done by hand, it is sometimes done by automatic box making machines.
The blank sheet is made of a sheet material such as paper or resin, and is cut into a predetermined outline shape to be formed into a packaging box.

As described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 below, for example, conventional box-making involves preparing a large number of flat intermediate materials in advance in a magazine, with both ends of the blank sheet connected with a heat-molten resin (hereinafter referred to as "hot melt"), and then carrying out the box-making process in which the blank is unfolded into a cylindrical shape using an automatic box-making device, the bottom-closing process in which the flap at one opening is folded to seal it, the packaging process in which the product is filled, and finally the sealing process in which the flap at the other opening is folded to seal it (see Patent Document 4 below).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 39-3874 Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-13407 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 191725/1983 Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-3105

However, all of the above conventional methods apply stress to the surface of the intermediate material during the box-making process, and therefore have the problem that the intermediate material of the packaging box may be damaged due to interference with the box-making unit or the like.
Furthermore, even during the sealing process, the unfinished carton does not fully retain its shape, and the flaps and other parts extending from the opening are folded in the molding unit while hot melt is applied appropriately to seal the carton. This not only interferes with the sealing process, which involves folding or inserting the flaps and other parts, but also hinders the filling of products.

In addition, at this time, the corners of the packaging box must be bent at an angle (e.g. 90 degrees) determined by the folding line, but if excessive stress is applied when the unfinished carton does not yet retain its shape properly, the appearance of the box will be damaged and the yield will decrease.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a packaging box making device that can make packaging boxes with a good appearance smoothly and with a good yield, including the packaging process.

The present invention provides a box-making device for packaging boxes that has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, which is a box-making device that forms a flat blank sheet into a box shape, and is characterized in that it comprises a forming base that holds the blank sheet, and a box-making means equipped with a forming head that forms the blank sheet held by the forming base, the forming base has holding means that adsorbs and releases the blank sheet on a region- by-region basis, the forming head has guide blocks that support each side surface from the inside during box-making, and the forming head is rolled (rolled) on the forming base to sequentially adsorb and raise the blank sheet into a box while releasing the regions of the blank sheet that are released from adsorption to the forming base .
In this case, the region refers to a series of ranges whose outer edges are boundaries that can be recognized visually on multiple surfaces that constitute the packaging box, such as the top surface, bottom surface, etc. The blank sheet is cut from a sheet material such as thin paper used for packaging medicines, thick paper such as cardboard, aluminum laminated sheet paper, or resin sheet.

The carton erection means includes a sealing means for sealing the opening of the carton erected by the carton erection means, and the sealing means can be configured to include a forming roller that advances and retreats while applying pressure to the forming area of the blank sheet in the folding direction on the guide block, and an adhesive means that applies adhesive to the adhesive area where the forming area is folded over.

The forming head can be configured to support a plurality of guide blocks in an arrangement that supports the sides of the carton from the inside after it is made into a box, and the holding surfaces of the guide blocks can be provided with suction holes that adsorb and release the back surfaces of the blank sheets.
In addition, the forming base can be configured to include a plurality of base blocks arranged in accordance with the arrangement of each side of the blank sheet, and the support surface of the base blocks can be provided with suction holes for adsorbing and releasing the blank sheet from the surface thereof.

The packaging box making device can be configured to include a sheet holder that positions and stores a plurality of blank sheets in the same orientation, and a carrier that secures the topmost blank sheet on the sheet holder, transfers the secured blank sheet to the forming base, and places the transferred blank sheet in a fixed position on the forming base, and the carrier can be configured to include a gripping means that releases the suction of the blank sheet placed in the fixed position on a region-by-region basis as it is suctioned to the forming base.
The gripping means may be configured to include peeling means for curving or bending the blank sheet after the blank sheet is secured from the sheet holder.

According to the packaging box making device of the present invention, packaging boxes having a neat appearance can be made smoothly with a high yield rate, including the packaging process.
For example, in the box-raising and forming processes, the blank sheet is firmly fixed to the forming base to retain its shape, and then the back side of the blank sheet is adsorbed to the forming head while it is rolled to perform the folding, box-raising, and sealing operations, thereby eliminating the problem of damage to the intermediate material of the packaging box due to interference with the box-raising unit during the box-raising process.

In addition, because the molding head can be shaped by combining highly precisely molded dies, it is possible to achieve highly reproducible processing of blank sheets according to the precision of the molding blocks, enabling highly reproducible sealing processing with precisely controlled preset application positions and amounts.
Furthermore, since the shape of the forming base and forming head can be changed as required, the present invention has versatility and can be applied to the manufacture of boxes of various shapes.

Furthermore, in the sealing process using a forming head, the unfinished carton after the erection process can be reliably maintained in shape from the inside, accurately positioned, and held stationary while the forming unit folds in any flaps or other parts extending from the opening, while hot melt is applied appropriately to seal the carton. This not only facilitates the sealing process, which involves folding and inserting flaps, but also prevents any problems with filling the carton with products.
Moreover, since excessive stress is not applied when bending the corners of the packaging box to the angle determined by the folding line, the problem of reduced yield due to damage to the appearance of the packaging box can be eliminated.

Furthermore, when the blank sheets are adsorbed on the sheet table, the removal height, removal angle and removal position are constantly controlled, so that the blank sheets stacked on the sheet table are tightly adhered in the vertical direction by a constant pressure applied by the carrier, thereby eliminating vacuum adsorption between the blank sheets and electrostatic adsorption due to static electricity.
In addition, by providing the carrier with a peeling means for curving or bending the blank sheet gripped during the suction holding, the blank sheets loaded in the sheet holder can be reliably removed one by one without damage and without applying any extra pressure.
This makes it possible to eliminate the decrease in yield that occurs when a plurality of blank sheets are transferred to the forming base.

FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a box-making device for a box-making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a box-making device for a box-making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a box-making device for a box-making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a supporting mode of a blank sheet in a box-making device of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a supporting state of a forming head and a hanger of a box making device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a forming head of a box making device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a box-making device for a box making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an adhesive discharge means of a box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a top sealing process of the box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a sheet holder of a box making device according to the present invention. 1A is a perspective view showing an example of a packing process of a box making device according to the present invention, the packing process including (A): a stacking process, (B): a small unitizing process, and (C): a unitizing process. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a conveying means of a box making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a filling means of the box making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a bottom sealing process of the box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a bottom sealing process of the box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a bottom sealing process of the box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a bottom sealing process of the box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a filling means of a box making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a conveying means of a box making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a packaging process of the box making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a bottom sealing process of the box making device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an adhesive discharge means of a box making device according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a box-making device (hereinafter referred to as a "carton-making device") for packaging boxes (hereinafter referred to as a "carton-making device") according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, based on an example of making a carton from a blank sheet α shown in Figure 1, etc.
The box-making device shown in the figure is a box-making device that forms a flat blank sheet α into a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

This box making device is equipped with a box making means for producing a cylindrical carton (hereinafter referred to as an "empty carton β") for filling with stick-shaped products (hereinafter referred to as "packaged products") from the blank sheet α, a packaging means for neatly filling the inner space of the empty carton β with a specified number of packaged products, and a bottom sealing means for sealing and adhesively fixing the lower end side flap J of the lower opening, the lower middle side flap L, the under flap M, and the bottom flap K during or after filling with the packaged products.

＜＜Meaning for opening the box＞＞
The box-making means comprises a forming base 1 which holds the blank sheet α (Figure 4), a forming head 2 which forms the blank sheet α held by the forming base 1 (Figures 5 and 6), a top sealing means which seals by tightly contacting extended pieces such as the upper end side flap F, upper middle side flap H, upper flap I and top flap G to the holding surface of the forming head 2 (Figures 7 to 9), and a sheet supplying means (Figure 10) which places the blank sheets α one by one on the forming base 1 of the box-making means.

<Molded base>
The molding base 1 is configured by arranging and fixing a plurality of base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d on which each of the side regions B, C, D, and E is individually placed in accordance with the arrangement of each of the side regions B, C, D, and E of the carton formed by the blank sheet α (Figure 4).
When manufacturing a rectangular carton as in this example, a blank sheet α is generally used in which side regions B, C, D, and E of the same height are connected, with a glue tab A extending to one end of the connecting direction, and an upper end side flap F, a top flap G, an upper middle side flap H, and an upper flap I, as well as a lower end side flap J, a bottom flap K, a lower middle side flap L, and an under flap M extending above and below each side region (Figures 1 to 4).

In this example, the molding base 1 is a rectangular metal block, and the base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d that hold the four sides are arranged linearly along the outer edge of the substrate, and the outer surfaces of the support parts of all base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d are arranged so that they are flush with either the upper or lower boundary line of the four sides that they support (in this example, the upper boundary line: lead-in line).

Each base block 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d has a support section on one side (outside in this example) with an upward supporting surface for individually placing side areas B, C, D, E of blank sheet α, and a fixing section on the opposite side (inside in this example) of the support section with fixing means for fixing each base block 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d to the substrate in an adjustable position.

The support surfaces of the support parts have the same shape as the side surfaces B, C, D, and E that they support, and the height of the fixing parts including the fixing means is set to be equal to or less than the height of the support parts.
When a fixing bolt is used as the fixing means, for example, a long hole through which the bolt passes is drilled so that the length thereof follows the arrangement of base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d (the width of the side surface supported by the support portion) and the position of base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d can be adjusted to allow for screw fastening.
The substrate is fixed to the upper surface of a frame fixed to a base so that the amount of projection from the outer edge of the base can be adjusted. When, for example, fixing bolts are used as a means for fixing the substrate, long holes are drilled in the projection direction (the height of the side surface supported by the support part) in the same manner as the fixing parts of the base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d (FIG. 4).

Each of the base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d has an independent holding means for each of the side areas B, C, D, and E of the blank sheet α.
The holding means in this example has a suction system on its support surface which adsorbs and releases the surface of the blank sheet α, and has an air passage leading from the suction hole 3 on the support surface to one or more connecting surfaces (surfaces to which other base blocks or joints are connected).

The number of base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d that hold the side regions B, C, D, and E may be one or more.
When base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d which hold side areas B, C, D, and E are each composed of a combination of multiple base blocks, the air passages of the holding means of each base block are connected to the assigned side areas B, C, D, and E, and the timing of adsorption and release of each base block constituting base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d is adjusted to be, in principle, the same.

The forming base 1 is provided with a positioning pin 4 for regulating the positioning of the blank sheet α, and a positioning plate 5 for guiding a reference portion of the blank sheet α to the positioning pin 4 (FIG. 4).
The positioning pin 4 is erected so as to be able to appear and disappear at the boundaries of the side areas B, C, D, and E on the restraint line of the molding base 1, while the positioning plate 5 is arranged facing the lead-in line of the molding base 1 and is arranged so as to be able to move freely toward and away from the restraint line in a direction perpendicular to the lead-in line.
Furthermore, the restraint line is an imaginary line along which the boundary lines between the side areas B, C, D, E and the lower flap areas J, K, L, M in the blank sheet α are located when each side area B, C, D, E is accurately positioned on the assigned base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d by operating the positioning plate 5, and the lead-in line is an imaginary line along which the boundary lines between the side areas B, C, D, E and the upper flap areas F, G, H, I are located, and which coincides with the outer edge of the support part of the molding base 1.

With this configuration, the side areas B, C, D, and E of the blank sheet α are placed on the planar shape of each support part of the base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, and the placed blank sheet α is pressed with equal force toward each positioning pin 4 by each positioning plate 5, so that the deepest parts of the valleys between the lower flap areas J, K, L, and M extending from each side area of the blank sheet α engage with the positioning pin 4, making it possible to achieve extremely accurate positioning.
At this time, the holding means maintains a released or weakly adsorbed state on all base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d until positioning is complete, and adjusts the suction force so that the adsorption state is strong enough to stably hold the positioning pins 4 and positioning plates 5 even when they are retracted.
The molding base 1 is not limited to a metal block, and a block molded from a synthetic resin or the like can also be used as long as it satisfies the functions of the molding base 1.

<Molding head>
The forming head 2 is provided with a plurality of guide blocks made of metal or synthetic resin, etc., and each guide block is arranged so as to support side areas B, C, D, and E of the empty carton β after box-making from the inside.
Each guide block has, on its holding surface, suction holes 6 for sucking and releasing the rear surface of the blank sheet α (FIGS. 5 and 6).
The suction hole 6 is an air intake for a suction means that adsorbs and releases the back surface of the blank sheet α, and is provided with an air passage leading from the suction hole 6 on the holding surface to one or more connecting surfaces (surfaces to which other guide blocks or joints 7 are connected).

In this example, the forming head 2 is composed of nine guide blocks 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, and 2i arranged to form a rectangular forming head 2 that has the same height (effective height: height of the hollow portion) as the height of the side regions B, C, D, and E of the empty carton β, the same length as the opposing long side surfaces C and E of the side regions B, C, D, and E, and the same width as the opposing short side surfaces B and D of the side regions B, C, D, and rotates around an axis passing through the centers of the top and bottom surfaces of the empty carton β (the center of the front holding surface of the forming head 2), with the side surfaces of the empty carton β as its circumferential surface (Figures 1 to 3).
The rotation axis of the molding head 2 is attached to a rotation-controllable tip member (hereinafter referred to as the "tip rod") of a six-axis articulated robot arm (hereinafter referred to as the "robot arm") 20 fixed to a base (Figure 5).

The guide block in this example is composed of four corner guides (one of which is a glue guide) 2a, 2c, 2e, 2g that are arranged at the four corners of the forming head 2 and form the four corners of the peripheral surface (the ends of the four sides), short side guides 2b, 2f that form the center of the short sides that form the peripheral surface and support the center of the short sides B, D of the empty carton β, long side guides 2d, 2h that form the center of the long sides that form the peripheral surface and support the center of the long sides C, E of the empty carton β, and a central flap guide 2i that is arranged inside the short side guides 2b, 2f and the long side guides 2d, 2h and holds the flaps F, G, H, I that close the top opening of the empty carton β (Figures 1 and 6).

The guide blocks that make up the forming head 2 are all rectangular parallelepiped blocks, and the rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by the forming head 2 has flat side holding surfaces that hold the side regions B, C, D, and E of the empty carton β, and a front holding surface that holds the upper flap regions F, G, H, and I of the empty carton β, and the faces of the guide blocks that make up these holding surfaces are connected so that they are flush with each other.

The molding head 2 is equipped with a guide lifting means 8 which moves the long side guide 2d forward and backward to switch between a guide position and a retracted position, and a flap support means 9 which moves the top flap G forward and backward to function or retract the support member that supports the top flap G so that it is in a position that does not cover the upper opening.
Here, the guide position refers to the position of the long side guide 2d where the forming head 2 fits exactly into the hollow portion of the empty carton β, and the retracted position refers to the position of the long side guide 2d on the forming head 2 where it does not get in the way when the insertion area of the upper flap I is inserted into the opening during the top sealing process.

Furthermore, the molding head 2 can be provided on its back surface with a folding means for creating folds in the lower end side flap J, bottom flap K, lower middle side flap L and under flap M that seal the bottom surface, such that they spread outward from the boundary lines between the end short side B, middle long side C, middle short side D and end long side E, respectively.
The shaping means is a molding unit equipped with shaping rollers that move linearly from the back side of the molding head 2 along the back surface of the molding head 2 (an imaginary plane surrounded by the boundary lines) between the inside and outside of the end short side B, the middle long side C, the middle short side D, and the end long side E.
The track of the forming unit is regulated by its reciprocating means so as to cross the center of the boundary line at a right angle.
By providing the crease forming means, the yield and processing speed can be improved, and the productivity can be increased.

<Top sealing means>
The top surface sealing means includes an insertion molding means 100 that folds the insertion area of the upper flap I, a glue tab molding means 10 that folds the glue tab A along the molding head 2, an upper end side flap molding means 11 that folds the upper end side flap F along the molding head 2, an upper middle side flap molding means 12 that folds the upper middle side flap H along the molding head 2, a first adhesive dispensing means that applies hot melt to the glue tab A, an upper flap molding means 13 that folds the upper flap I along the molding head 2, a second adhesive dispensing means that applies hot melt to the upper flap I, and a top flap molding means 14 that folds the top flap G along the molding head 2 onto the upper flap I to which the hot melt has been applied (Figures 1 to 4, 8 and 9).
In this example, an integrated box-raising adhesive discharge means 105 is used as the first adhesive discharge means and the second adhesive discharge means.
When the upper flap forming means 13 is operated, the guide lifting means 8 and the flap supporting means 9 of the forming head 2 are also operated (FIGS. 5, 6 and 9).

The insertion molding means 100 includes a bending ruler 101 that is applied to the bending position of the insertion area, a bending unit 102 that applies pressure to the insertion area to bend it in the insertion direction along the bending ruler 101, a unit advancing/retreating means 103 that moves the bending unit 102 forward and backward relative to the bending position to bend the insertion at the edge of the bending ruler 101, and a unit lifting/lowering means 104 that raises and lowers the bending unit 102 while maintaining it parallel to the bending ruler 101 (Figures 7 and 9).
In this example, the bending ruler 101 is a straight ruler-like guide that is arranged along the boundary line of the insertion area provided at the tip of the upper flap I, and the bending unit 102 is a unit equipped with a forming roller that moves back and forth so as to pass through the straight tip edge of the bending ruler 101.

The margin forming means 10 uses a forming unit equipped with a forming roller that, by lifting and lowering, presses the margin A against the side holding surface (circumferential surface) of the corner guide (margin guide) 2a of the forming head 2 (Figure 4).
The upper end side flap forming means 11 uses a forming unit equipped with forming rollers that move up and down to bring the upper end side flap F into close contact with the corner guides 2a, 2c, the short side guide 2b, the long side guides 2d, 2h, and the central guide 2i.
The upper and middle side flap forming means 12 uses a forming unit equipped with forming rollers that move up and down to bring the upper and middle side flap H into close contact with the corner guides 2e, 2g, the short side guide 2f, the long side guides 2h, 2d, and the central guide 2i.

The upper flap forming means 13 uses a forming unit equipped with forming rollers that move up and down to bring the upper flap I into close contact with the front supporting surfaces of all the flap guides 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, and 2i (Figures 4 and 9).
The top flap molding means 14 is supported by a two-dimensional guide rail that moves back and forth horizontally and rises and falls, and uses a molding unit equipped with a molding roller that presses the top flap G against the upper flap I to which hot melt has been applied by the lifting and lowering motion (Figures 7 and 9).
The box-building adhesive discharge means 105 includes a hot melt gun that discharges hot melt, a servo actuator 106 that moves the hot melt gun up and down, back and forth, and left and right, and a camera for inspecting the state of the hot melt application (FIG. 8).
The servo actuator 106 may be a three-axis moving means such as a three-axis ROBO cylinder that ejects hot melt material at a preset three-dimensional coordinate position, or a robot arm, etc. A six-axis articulated robot may be used as the robot arm.

Each forming unit has one or more forming rollers rotatably supported in one or more rows depending on the width of the surface to be formed, and these rollers move forward and backward or rise and fall when an actuator is operated.
The actuator may be an air cylinder or a servo actuator 106 similar to the box-raising adhesive discharge means 105, either of which is fixed to a base so that its position can be adjusted, or is mounted on a guide frame installed on the base.

<Sheet Supply Means>
The sheet supply means includes a sheet holder (FIG. 10) that positions and stocks blank sheets α in the same orientation, and a carrier 17 that picks up blank sheets α one by one from the sheet holder and transports them to a fixed position on the forming base 1 and places them thereon (FIG. 5).

The sheet holder includes a sheet table 15 for stacking blank sheets α horizontally in the same orientation, a table lifter for raising and lowering the sheet table 15, and a level adjustment means for maintaining a constant surface height of the uppermost blank sheet α among the blank sheets α stacked on the sheet table 15 (Figure 10).
The level adjustment means is composed of an upper limit sensor 16 that detects the upper limit of the blank sheets α stacked on the sheet table 15, and a servo actuator that detects the upper limit and raises and lowers and stops the table lifter.

The carrier 17 holds the blank sheet α evenly over its entire area and transfers it to the molding base 1, and the gripping means that releases the blank sheet α area by area as it adheres to the molding base 1 is supported on the tip rod of the robot arm 20 on which the molding head 2 is supported in a position that does not interfere with the molding head 2 (Figure 5).

The gripping means is composed of a hanger 18 having a length covering almost the entire length of the blank sheet α, and suction fingers 19 supported by the hanger 18 and arranged so as to evenly adsorb almost the entire back surface of the blank sheet α.
Each of the suction fingers 19 has a suction port at its tip which communicates with an air pipe connected to a suction means.
The hanger 18 is composed of a pair of holding frames 18 a , 18 a , a hanging frame 18 b , and a driving frame 18 c , and the hanging frame 18 b is fixed to the tip rod of a robot arm 20 .

The holding frame 18a has connecting portions at the inner end and outer end of the longitudinal direction of the holding frame 18a, and a pair of suction fingers 19 are attached facing downward (away from the tip rod) on both the left and right sides along the longitudinal direction of the holding frame 18a.
On the other hand, the hanging frame 18b is a member for suspending the inner ends of both holding frames 18a, 18a in a freely swingable manner, and includes a connecting member that connects the pair of holding frames 18a, 18a in vertical line, a stay that is fixed to the tip rod of the robot arm 20, a spacer that allows the drive frame 18c to pass between the stay and the connecting member so that it can be raised and lowered, and a driving means that raises and lowers the drive frame 18c relative to the hanging frame 18b.
The drive frame 18c connects the holding frames 18a, 18a so that they can swing about the outer connecting parts of the two holding frames 18a, 18a, and moves forward and backward relative to the stays while maintaining a constant posture by the drive means.
The driving means in this example is an actuator such as an air cylinder.

When the hanger 18 operates as a peeling means, the spacers form a front-rear pair to restrict the left-right movement of the drive frame 18c and ensure a gap for moving the drive frame 18c in the up-down direction.
The suction fingers 19 are configured to enable adjustment of the protruding length by, for example, screwing into screw holes drilled downward in each of the holding frames 18a, 18a so that the length of the legs from each of the holding frames 18a, 18a can be individually adjusted.

When the hanger 18 lands on the blank sheet α placed on the sheet table 15, the suction cups of all of the suction fingers 19 supported by the hanger 18 are evenly positioned over the front surface of the blank sheet α (side areas A, B, C, D and upper and lower flap areas F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M) (it does not necessarily have to be positioned over all areas), and the suction means operates to hold almost the entire area of one blank sheet α.
At this time, when the blank sheets α are pressed via the hangers 18, the adhesion force in the vertical direction is increased, and the vacuum adhesion and electrostatic adhesion between the blank sheets α are eliminated.

With the suction means still operating, when the hanger 18 secures the top blank sheet α from the blank sheets α placed on the sheet table 15 and begins to rise, the drive frame 18c is pushed up by the operation of the drive means, pulling up the outer connecting portions of both holding frames 18a, 18a.
When this happens, the hanger 18 bends in an inverted U-shape at its middle portion, curving or bending the blank sheet α that it grips when it is adsorbed and held. Combined with the effect of eliminating the vacuum adsorption and electrostatic adsorption, this functions as a peeling means for promoting the peeling and falling of other blank sheets α attached to the blank sheet α held directly by the suction fingers 19.

<<<<Setting the blank sheet>>>
The box-making device is constructed as described above, and prior to pickup by the carrier 17, the sheet holder extends the table lifter by controlling the servo actuator of the level adjustment means in response to the output of the upper limit sensor 16 until the topmost blank sheet α loaded on the sheet table 15 reaches a specified position.
When the upper limit sensor 16 detects that the table lifter has reached a specified position and stops, the carrier 17 moves the hanger 18 directly above the blank sheet α that has been stacked flat in a regulated orientation, and places it on the top (back surface) of the blank sheet α. At that time, the hanger 18 as a whole is extended from its bent state in an inverted V shape to a straight line as the drive frame 18c advances due to the contraction of the drive means.
Next, the suction means is operated to hold substantially the entire area of one blank sheet α by suction force.
In this way, by adopting a precise pick-up operation that always ensures that the blank sheet α is taken out at a constant height and positional relationship, it is possible to stably hold the blank sheet α without missing any.

When a certain amount of suction pressure is applied to the suction fingers 19 by the suction means, the carrier 17 lifts the hanger 18 and conveys one blank sheet α to the forming base 1 .
In this case, conventionally, there is a risk that a plurality of closely packed blank sheets α will be conveyed together.
In consideration of such problems, when the hanger 18 in this example is lifted, the driving means extends and the driving frame 18c retreats , causing the pair of holding frames 18a, 18a of the hanger 18 to bend in an inverted U-shape, which promotes the peeling off of blank sheets α other than those adsorbed by the suction fingers 19 of both holding frames 18a, 18a.
As a result, even if multiple blank sheets α are present close together at the top, combined with the effect of eliminating vacuum adsorption and electrostatic adsorption due to the pressure applied, when the top blank sheet α is lifted, the other excess blank sheets α can be separated and dropped.

The carrier 17 places the picked-up blank sheet α with its back side facing up on the forming base 1. At this time, the placement positions of each side area B, C, D, and E of the blank sheet α are controlled so that they are roughly positioned on the support surfaces of the base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d that are in charge of each. At this time, the positioning pins 4 are protruded from the surface of the forming base 1, so that the protruding positioning pins 4 are caught between the upper flap areas F, G, H, and I of the blank sheet α.

As a result of the above, the blank sheet α is set on the molding base 1 with extreme precision. In this example, the positioning plate 5 further applies pressure to and guides the deepest parts of the valleys between the upper flap regions F, G, H, and I of the blank sheet α toward the positioning pin 4, thereby further improving the reproducibility of the positioning position (FIG. 4).
Once the above positioning operation is completed, the suction means of the forming base 1 is activated (a weak suction force may be applied once the blank sheet α is placed on the forming base 1), so that the blank sheet α is held in place on the forming base 1 and does not shift, and the positioning pins 4 are recessed below the support surface so as not to interfere with forming.

<<<<Assembling empty cartons>>>
Next, the carrier 17 operates the forming head 2, and starts the box erecting operation by the box erecting means.
The box-making means performs a box-making operation in which the peripheral surface of the forming head 2 rolls along the forming base 1 while winding up the blank sheet α on the forming base 1 around the peripheral surface (FIGS. 1 to 3).
During the box-raising operation, the box-raising means applies hot melt to the glue tab A (Figure 8), adheres the glue tab A to the back end of the long side surface E to fix the blank sheet α into a cylindrical shape, and then sequentially overlaps the upper flap areas F and H to form a cylindrical upper opening, and then folds and adheres the upper flap I and top flap G to seal them (Figures 3 and 9).

In this example, winding of the blank sheet α begins from the end short side surface B, so the box-raising means accurately sets the side holding surface of the short side surface guide 2b of the forming head 2 and the side holding surfaces of the two adjacent corner guides 2a, 2c to the end short side surface B set on the base block 1a, which is the starting point of the box-raising operation (Figure 1 (A) Box-raising positioning).
At this time, the rotation axis (tip rod) of the molding head 2 is perpendicular to the arrangement of base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, and is parallel to the support surfaces of the base blocks 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d (hereinafter, these are referred to as "rotation conditions").

When the box raising positioning is completed, the box raising means operates the suction means of the short side guide 2b, stops the suction means of the base block 1a, applies pressure to the upper end side flap F by the upper end side flap forming means 11 to bring it into close contact with the front holding surfaces of the short side guide 2b, the corner guides 2a, 2c, the long side guides 2d, 2h and the central guide 2i, and applies pressure to bring the overlap A into close contact with the side holding surface of the corner guide (glue guide) 2a by the overlap forming means 10. At this time, because the suction means of the suction holes 6 are functioning, the side flap F brought into close contact with the front holding surface of the forming head 2 is held in a state in which it is maintained in close contact.
Next, the box-making means maintains pressure on the blank sheet α by the forming head 2 and maintains the above-mentioned rotation conditions, and rotates (rolls) the forming head 2 so that the side holding surface of the long side guide 2d of the forming head 2 and the side holding surfaces of the two adjacent corner guides 2c, 2e are accurately set to the subsequent middle long side C of the blank sheet α, thereby completing the second positioning (Figure 1 (B)).

When the second positioning is completed, the suction means of the long side guide 2d is operated, the suction means of the base block 1b is stopped, and the insertion piece of the upper flap I is bent by the insert molding means 100.
Next, while maintaining pressure on the blank sheet α by the forming head 2, maintaining the state in which the adhesive force of the forming head 2 is greater than the adhesive force of the forming base 1, maintaining the rotation conditions, and maintaining the tension of the blank sheet α, the forming head 2 is rotated (rolled) so that the side holding surface of the short side guide 2f of the forming head 2 and the side holding surfaces of the two adjacent corner guides 2e, 2g are accurately set to the subsequent middle short side surface D of the blank sheet α, thereby completing the third positioning (Figure 2 (A)).

Once the third positioning is completed, the suction means of the short side guide 2f is operated, the suction means of the base block 1c is stopped, and the upper and middle side flap molding means 12 applies pressure to the upper and middle side flap H to adhere it to the front supporting surfaces of the short side guide 2f, corner guides 2e, 2g, long side guides 2d, 2h, and central guide 2i (Figure 2 (B)).
Next, while maintaining pressure on the blank sheet α by the forming head 2 and maintaining the above-mentioned rotation conditions, the forming head 2 is rotated (rolled) so that the side holding surface of the long side guide 2h of the forming head 2 and the side holding surfaces of the two adjacent corner guides 2g, 2a are accurately set to the next end long side surface E of the blank sheet α, thereby completing the fourth positioning (Figure 3 (A)).

Once the fourth positioning is completed, the guide lifting means 8 is advanced and retreated to switch the long side guide 2d of the molding head 2 from the guide position to the retracted position, and the flap support means 9 is retracted, and the upper flap molding means 13 presses the upper flap I against the front retaining surfaces of the long side guides 2h, 2d, short side guides 2b, 2f, corner guides 2a, 2g, 2c, 2e and central guide 2i, and inserts the insertion piece into the upper opening (Figures 3 and 9).
Next, hot melt is dispensed onto the surface of the upper flap I as an adhesive while the application state is inspected with a camera (Figure 3 (B)), and the top flap G is adhered to the upper flap I immediately after the hot melt has been applied by the top flap molding means 14, and the hot melt is allowed to solidify.

With the above, the carton raising process is completed, and the empty carton β with the lower opening opened is supplied to the packaging means for packaging the packaged products (FIG. 20(A)).
The box raising means repeats the above box raising operation in synchronization with the wrapping means and the bottom sealing means as long as a specified volume of blank sheets α remains in the sheet holder.

<<Packaging means>>
The packaging means performs an alignment process to align the direction and posture of stick-shaped packaged products, and includes an accumulation means for dividing the packaged products organized in the alignment process into small units in units of a specified number, a unitization means for loading the specified number of small units into a shuttle 22 while maintaining the alignment state, a transport means for sending the shuttle 22 loaded with the packaged products to a filling position, and a filling means for orderly filling the packaged products loaded on the shuttle 22 into the hollow portion of an empty carton β.

<Accumulation means>
The accumulation means in this example is composed of a sending means which sends out a number of packaged products in a vertical row with their abdomens (the bulging part surrounded by the crimped parts on all four sides) facing forward, a pushing means which pressurizes a certain number of the packaged products sent out by the sending means from the sides and guides them to the alignment process, and a collection tray 21 which has a narrowing route through which the group of packaged products (small units) of 10 packages pushed in by the pushing means pass simultaneously in a uniform posture (Figure 11).
The collection tray 21 in this example has ten aligned tapered grooves through which the packaged commodities pass one by one in a uniformly inclined horizontal position.

The unitization means in this example includes a shuttle 22 which carries three small units in parallel, and a transport means which shifts the shuttle 22 by the width of one small unit during unitization and sends the shuttle 22 which has completed unitization to a shuttle supply module 23 (Figure 12).
The stacking means and unitizing means complete the loading of three small units through three loading operations and two shift operations (hereinafter, a shuttle 22 which has finished loading small units is referred to as a "full shuttle 22").

<Transportation Means>
The transport means includes a shuttle supply module 23 which secures full shuttles 22 and supplies them to the transport module, a shuttle return module 24 which secures empty shuttles 22 and supplies them to the unitization means, a shuttle transport module 25 which transports full shuttles 22 from the shuttle supply module 23 to the filling position and transports empty shuttles 22 from the filling position to the shuttle return module 24, and a transfer means 26 which transfers full shuttles 22 and empty shuttles 22 between the shuttle supply module 23 and the shuttle transport module 25, and between the shuttle return module 24 and the shuttle transport module 25 (Figure 12).

The shuttle supply module 23 and the shuttle collection module 24 are two-tiered horizontal transport conveyors stacked in parallel one above the other. In this example, the shuttle collection module 24 is disposed at the lower level, and the shuttle supply module 23 is disposed at the upper level.
The platforms for the transfer means 26 in the shuttle supply module 23 and the shuttle return module 24 are made longer than the shuttle supply module 23 by at least two shuttles 22 in order to operate both of the securing means 27 of the transfer means 26 simultaneously, and the platform for the transfer means 26 of the shuttle return module 24 is shifted horizontally outward by at least one shuttle 22 relative to the platform for the transfer means 26 of the shuttle supply module 23, so that the upper part of the upper end of the shuttle supply module 23 is open (Figure 12).

The shuttle transport module 25 comprises a transport base 25a which moves horizontally together along a route frame 34 connecting the loading position and the transfer position, and a lifting base 25b which moves back and forth horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the route frame 34, and the lifting base 25b is provided with a temporary bottom plate lifting lifter 28 and a shuttle lifting lifter 29.
The temporary bottom plate lifter 28 has two parallel rods that independently move up and down along substantially the same track, and the center of the temporary bottom plate 30 is fixed to the tip of one of these rods. On the other hand, the shuttle lifter 29 has a shuttle tray 31 fixed to the tip of the other of the two rods so as to surround and support the temporary bottom plate 30 (FIG. 18).

The shuttle tray 31 and the shuttle 22 loaded thereon each have a through hole 32 in the center through which the rod of the temporary bottom plate lifting lifter 28 and the temporary bottom plate 30 fixed to its tip can pass, so that the shuttle tray 31 loaded with an empty shuttle 22 can be raised and lowered independently below the temporary bottom plate 30.
The temporary bottom plate 30 is a flat plate fixed via a connecting piece 33 that can pass through the gap between the closed lower side flaps J, L at the bottom opening of the empty carton β, and has a structure that can support the packaged products filling the bottom opening of the empty carton β without them falling (in this example, a flat plate that seals off approximately one-third to one-half of the central part of the depth of the opening).
On the other hand, the shuttle 22 is formed in a dish shape that can secure the packaged products while keeping them aligned by the accumulation means and the unitization means.
The shuttle tray 31 on which the shuttle 22 is mounted has a base that allows the shuttle 22 to be detachably attached and secured to a level that prevents the shuttle 22 from falling during the transport operation by the shuttle transport module 25 .

The transfer means 26 includes two side-by-side, hoistable and lowerable securing means 27 which move horizontally along a shared frame.
The securing means 27 each has a claw that can be opened and closed to secure the sides of the full shuttle 22 and the empty shuttle 22 while maintaining a specified posture, and is arranged so that one securing means (supply grip) 27 stops at the upper position on the platform of the shuttle supply module 23, while the other securing means (recovery grip) 27 stops at the lower position on the platform of the shuttle recovery unit 24 (Figure 12).

<Filling means>
The filling means comprises a filling base 35 that holds the empty carton β with its opening facing downward at the filling position, a filling lifter that lifts the shuttle 22, on which the packaged products are aligned at the filling position, into the inner hollow of the empty carton β held by the filling base 35, and a sealing means that supports the left and right flaps and front and rear closing plates of the empty carton β by folding them in the direction to seal the opening.

The filling lifter includes a shuttle lifter 29 that raises and lowers the shuttle 22, a temporary bottom plate lifter 28 that raises and lowers a temporary bottom plate 30 to hold the packaged products in the internal space after the shuttle 22 descends, a lifting base 25b that supports the shuttle lifter 29 and the temporary bottom plate lifter 28, and a moving means for moving the lifting base 25b horizontally back and forth between the filling position and the retreat position.

With the above-mentioned configuration, the filling lifter raises the shuttle 22 into the inner hollow portion of the empty carton β, then lowers the shuttle 22 leaving behind the temporary bottom plate 30, and after the left and right flaps are folded and supported by the sealing means, the lifting base 25b is horizontally removed to a retracted position, and the sealing means folds the front and rear sealing plates (under flap M and bottom flap K in the above example) to seal them.
By adopting this method of filling packaged products, the packaged products are transported into the inner hollow portion of the empty carton β in an orderly manner, like stacked sashimi, and it is possible to store the packaged products in this orderly manner without disturbing the orderly state.

The filling means in this example is composed of a bottom sealing means and the shuttle transport module 25 .
The bottom sealing means includes a carton placement means (FIG. 13) which receives an empty carton β with its upper opening sealed after box-making from the forming head 2, transports the empty carton β to a filling position, and places it in a filling position, and a carton sealing means (FIGS. 14 to 18).

The carton placement means comprises a filling base 35 that accommodates empty cartons β, a lifting frame 200 that supports the filling base 35, a running base 201 that supports the lifting frame 200, a base lifting means 202 that raises and lowers the lifting frame 200 relative to the running base 201, a transport means that moves the running base 201 along a guide frame 203 that connects the receiving position and the packaging position, and a rotating means that can switch the orientation of the filling base 35 relative to the lifting frame 200 between sideways and downwards (Figure 13).
Here, the receiving position is a position where the traveling base 201 is stopped to receive the empty carton β, and the packaging position is a position where the traveling base 201 is stopped to fill the empty carton β with packaged products.
The configuration for supporting the filling base 35 so as to be freely transportable and to be freely changeable in direction is not limited to the configuration consisting of the base lifting means, transporting means and rotating means, and a robot arm may also be used.

The filling base 35 has four holding blocks 35a, 35a, 35b, and 35c that are combined to form a rectangular storage space having the same height as the four sides B, C, D, and E of the empty carton β, the same length as the two opposing long sides C and E of the four sides B, C, D, and E, and the same width as the two opposing short sides B and D of the four sides (Figure 13).
In addition, the filling base 35 rotates around the two long sides C, E and the top surface of the empty carton β, using an axis arranged parallel to the rear of the line connecting the centers of the holding surfaces (inner surfaces) of the holding blocks 35a, 35a that hold the two short sides B, D of the empty carton β as the rotation axis of the rotating means (Figure 13).
The pivot shaft of the pivot means of the filling base 35 is supported by a bearing of the lifting frame 200 so as to be rotatably controllable.

The filling base 35 in this example is made up of short holding blocks 35a, 35a that cover the surfaces of the short sides B and D of the empty carton β, long holding block 35b that covers the surface of the long side E of the empty carton β, long holding block 35c that covers the surface of the long side C of the empty carton β and supports a bottom flap K that extends from the long side C toward the lower opening, and a sealing block 35d that supports these four holding blocks 35a, 35a, 35b, 35c and seals the upper opening of the holding space surrounded by the holding blocks 35a, 35a, 35b, 35c.

Each of the retaining blocks 35a, 35a, 35b, 35c is a rectangular block or a combination thereof having a flat reference surface on its front side and a flat retaining surface on its inner surface, and the reference surface of each retaining block appropriately has an area of the shape required for operating the lower side flaps J, L, as well as the under flap M and bottom flap K to be retained.
In particular, the long holding block 35c that holds the bottom flap K has a reference surface that is configured to hold the entire area of the bottom flap K, and the long holding block 35b has an expansion and contraction means that expands the dimension between the long holding blocks 35b, 35c when loading an empty carton β, and contracts it after loading, thereby applying pressure to the long sides C, E of the empty carton β.

Each of the holding blocks 35a, 35c, 35a, 35b has a holding means on its inner surface for adsorbing and releasing the surfaces of the end short side B, middle long side C, middle short side D and end long side E of the empty carton β.
The aforementioned 35c has a holding means on its surface for adsorbing and releasing the bottom flap K of the aforementioned empty carton β.
The sealing block 35d has a holding means on its inner surface for adsorbing and releasing the top flap G to the surface.
In this example, the holding means of the holding blocks 35a, 35c, 35a, 35b is a suction means that adsorbs and releases from the surface of the empty carton β, and the holding surfaces that hold the short end side B, the long middle side C, the short middle side D or the long end side E, and the reference surface of the holding block 35c that holds the bottom flap K are provided with one or more suction holes 37 and air passages leading from the suction holes 37 to one or more connecting surfaces (surfaces to which other holding blocks or fittings 36 are connected).

In addition, each of the holding blocks 35a, 35a, 35b can also be configured to have a holding means on its surface that adheres to and releases the lower end side flap J, lower middle side flap L, and under flap M of the empty carton β for each surface. In this case, the reference surface of the holding blocks 35a, 35a, 35b is also provided with suction holes 37 that hold the lower end side flap J, lower middle side flap L, and under flap M of the empty carton β, and air passages that lead from the suction holes 37 to one or more connecting surfaces.

The single or multiple blocks that make up each holding block 35a, 35a, 35b, 35c are each divided into a system that holds on the inner surface and a system that holds on the reference surface, and each air passage is connected to each other, forming a holding means that simultaneously adsorbs and releases for each system.
The holding means of the sealing block 35d in this example is a suction means that adheres to and releases from the surface of the top flap G using suction holes 37 provided on the inner surface of the sealing block 35d, and is provided with an air passage leading from the suction holes 37 on the inner surface to one or more connecting surfaces (surfaces to which other holding blocks or fittings 36 are connected).
The single or multiple blocks constituting the sealing block 35d have their respective ventilation paths communicated with each other, and serve as a holding means for simultaneously sucking and releasing.

In this way, the filling base 35 can be constructed by combining rectangular parallelepiped holding blocks molded with high precision, so that the unfinished empty carton β that has undergone the box-making process can be reliably maintained in shape from the outside and accurately positioned, and while the empty carton β is held stationary, the flaps J, K, L, M etc. extended at the opening can be folded in by the molding unit while adhesive is applied appropriately to seal the carton. This makes it easier to perform the sealing process, which involves folding or inserting flaps J, K, L, M etc., and enables highly reproducible sealing processing that matches the shape and assembly precision of each holding block 35a, 35c, 35a, 35b.
Furthermore, since no excessive stress is applied when bending the corners of the empty carton β to the angle determined by the folding line, the problem of reduced yield due to damage to the appearance of the carton can be eliminated.

The carton sealing means, like the top sealing means, includes a lower end side flap forming means 204 for opening and closing the lower end side flap J, a lower middle flap forming means 205 for opening and closing the lower middle side flap L, an under flap forming means 206 for opening and closing the under flap M, a sealing adhesive discharge means 208 for applying adhesive to the surface of the under flap M (Fig. 22), and a bottom flap forming means 207 for opening and closing the bottom flap K (Figs. 14 to 17).

The lower end side flap forming means 204 and the lower middle side flap forming means 205 are forming units equipped with forming rollers that pressurize the lower side flaps J, L by bringing them into close contact with the reference surface of the short holding block 35a, or that move forward and backward along the reference surface of the short holding block 35a to pressurize and support the packaged products filled in the inner space of the empty carton β through the lower side flaps J, L.

The under-flap forming means 206 is a forming unit equipped with forming rollers that pressurize the under-flap M by contacting it with the reference surface of the long holding block 35b, or that move forward and backward along the reference surface of the long holding block 35b to pressurize and support the packaged products filled in the inner hollow portion of the empty carton β through the lower side flaps J, L and the under-flap M.
The bottom flap forming means 207 is a forming unit equipped with forming rollers that pressurize the bottom flap K by adhering it to the reference surface of the long holding block 35c, or that move forward and backward along the reference surface of the long holding block 35c to pressurize the bottom flap K by adhering it to the lower side flaps J, L and under flap M that support the packaged products filled in the inner hollow portion of the empty carton β.

The lower end side flap forming means 204, the lower middle side flap forming means 205, the under flap forming means 206, and the bottom flap forming means 207 are arranged surrounding the filling position (FIG. 18).
The forming rollers of each flap forming means 204, 205, 206, 207 are rotatably supported by a movable block as part of a forming unit that moves between a retracted position and an operating position (filling position or sealing position), and each is equipped with an advancing/retreating means for moving the movable block forward and backward relative to the operating position in the direction of the side of the empty carton β to which the flaps it is responsible for forming are connected, and a lifting means for raising and lowering the movable block in the direction of the top surface of the empty carton β relative to the filling height (Figures 14 to 18).

Each molding unit has one or more molding rollers supported on a shaft so as to be freely rotatable depending on the shape of the reference surfaces of the short holding blocks 35a, 35a and the long holding blocks 35b, 35c, and the rollers advance and retreat in the depth direction of the reference surfaces of the short holding blocks 35a, 35a and the long holding blocks 35b, 35c by operation of the advance/retract means provided in each molding unit (Figures 14 to 18).
In addition, the advancing/retreating means and lifting means in this example can be a linear actuator such as an air cylinder or a combination of these, or a three-axis moving means or a servo actuator such as a robot arm, and can be fixed to a base so that its position can be adjusted, or can be installed so as to be able to move freely along a guide frame mounted on the base.

The sealing adhesive dispensing means 208 (FIG. 22) is disposed facing the opening of the carton.
The sealing adhesive dispensing means 208 includes a hot melt gun for dispensing hot melt, a unit including a servo actuator 106 for moving the hot melt gun up and down, front and back, left and right, and a camera for inspecting the state of the hot melt application (FIG. 8).
The servo actuator may be, for example, a three-axis moving means or a robot arm, which is controlled to aim the hot melt gun at a preset three-dimensional coordinate position, and dispense a specified amount of hot melt material at the predetermined position.

<<<<Packaging for individually packaged products>>>
The packaging means is constructed as described above, and the molding head 2 loads an empty carton β into the filling base 35 of the carton placement means and releases the suction to the empty carton β, and the filling base 35 operates the suction means of the suction holes 37 provided on the holding surface (inner surface) of each block that forms the filling base 35.
Next, the carton placement means presses the bottom flap K against the reference surface of the long holding block 35c. The long holding block 35c sucks the surface of the bottom flap K and adheres it to the reference surface.
Next, the carton placement means transfers the filling base 35 holding the empty carton β to the filling position, and stops it in a filling position with the opening facing downward (see FIG. 13).

At the filling position, the forming units of the lower end side flap forming means 204, the lower middle side flap forming means 205, and the under flap forming means 206 descend around the filling position, proceed to a position facing the entrance of the lower opening of the empty carton β, and gather together, then rise again to the reference surface (filling height) of each holding block, thereby being positioned along the lower end side flap J, the lower middle side flap L, and the under flap M, respectively, just before the lower opening (Figure 14 (A)).

Next, each of them moves horizontally in a straight line along the reference planes of the lower end side flap J, lower middle side flap L, and under flap M, as well as their respective retaining blocks 35a, 35a, and 35b, in a direction away from each other, taking along the lower end side flap J, lower middle side flap L, and under flap M, and pushing open the lower end side flap J, lower middle side flap L, and under flap M and supporting each of them (Figure 14 (B)).
Next, the filling base 35 performs one reciprocating motion up and down, causing the lower end side flap J, the lower middle side flap L and the under flap M, which have been shaped to open downward, to hang down freely (FIG. 14(C)).

At the same time, the shuttle transport module 25 retrieves the full shuttle 22 from the transfer position of the shuttle supply module 23 and transports it to the loading position (FIGS. 12 and 18).
At this time, the temporary bottom plate lifter 28, the shuttle lifter 29, and the full shuttle 22 on the shuttle tray 31 move horizontally together.
When the container arrives at the filling position, the temporary bottom plate lifter 28 and the shuttle lifter 29 rise together to the filling height, and fill the packaged commodities in the full shuttle 22 into the hollow space of the empty carton β (FIGS. 19 and 20).
When the packaged products are filled, only the shuttle lifter 29 contracts and only the shuttle tray 31 descends with the empty shuttle 22. At that time, the temporary bottom plate 30 supports the packaged products contained in the inner space of the empty carton β at the filling height, and the temporary bottom plate 30 and its rod pass through the through holes 32 of the shuttle 22 and the shuttle tray 31 (FIG. 19(B)).

<<<<Seal>>>
Next, the forming units of the lower end side flap forming means 204 and the lower middle side flap forming means 205 advance to the filling position and assemble in close proximity to each other, sealing the lower opening of the full carton γ with the lower end side flap J and the lower middle side flap L, respectively (Figure 15(B)).
Next, the bottom flap forming means 207, together with the lower end side flap forming means 204 and the lower middle side flap forming means 205, supports the front halves of the lower end side flap J and the lower middle side flap L that seal the lower opening of the full carton γ (Figure 15 (C)).
The lower end side flap forming means 204 and the lower middle side flap forming means 205 wait for the bottom flap forming means 207 to intervene as described above, and then retreat to the side of the filling position (FIG. 16(A)).

Next, the underflap forming means 206 presses the underflap M against the lower end side flap J and the lower middle side flap L that support the packaged products filled in the inner hollow portion of the full carton γ, and applies pressure to the rear portion (Figure 16 (B)).
At this time, the support means 210 advances a pair of flat, rod-shaped support pieces 209, 209 that support the under-flap M from below, thereby ensuring the positioning of the packaged products filled in the inner hollow portion of the full carton γ, the lower end side flap J, the lower middle side flap L, and the under-flap M.
The support means 210 having the support pieces 209, 209 is positioned above the underflap molding means 206, and is equipped with an advance/retract means for causing the support pieces 209, 209 to appear and disappear in accordance with the reference surface of the filling base 35 which is positioned at the filling height of the filling position.
The underflap forming means 206 waits for the support pieces 209, 209 to advance forward and then retreats from the filling position (FIG. 16(C)).

Next, the shuttle transport module 25 horizontally retracts the temporary bottom plate lifter 28 and the shuttle lifter 29 from the filling position while maintaining the height of the temporary bottom plate 30 to remove it from the full carton γ (Figure 21), and releases the suction of the bottom flap K by the long holding block 35c.
Finally, the sealing adhesive discharge means 208 applies adhesive to the surface of the under-flap M, and the bottom flap K is pressed against the under-flap M by the bottom flap forming means 207 (FIG. 17(A)).
After the pressure is continued for a certain period of time until the hot melt solidifies, the underflap forming means 206 and the bottom flap forming means 207 retreat from the filling area, completing the sealing of the full carton γ (FIG. 17(B)).

The box making device according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration for packaging the packaged products, but can also be applied to the box making process for packaging boxes for further packaging unpackaged solid products or boxed products by changing the configuration (shape, size, or combination) of the forming base 1 and the forming head 2.

α Blank sheet, β Empty carton, γ Full carton,
A Glue allowance, B Short end side, C Medium long side, D Medium short side, E Long end side,
F: upper end side flap, G: top flap, H: upper middle side flap,
I Upper flap,
J: Lower end side flap, K: Bottom flap, L: Lower middle side flap,
M Under flap,
1 Molding base, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Base block,
2 molding head,
2a, 2c, 2e, 2g corner guides, 2b, 2f short side guides,
2d, 2h long side guide, 2i central guide,
3 suction hole, 4 positioning pin, 5 positioning plate,
6 suction hole, 7 joint, 8 guide lifting means, 9 flap support means,
10: overlap forming means, 11, 12: side flap forming means,
13 Upper flap forming means, 14 Top flap forming means,
15 seat table, 16 upper limit sensor,
17 Carrier, 18 Hanger,
18a: holding frame, 18b: hanging frame, 18c: driving frame,
19 suction finger, 20 robot arm,
21 collection tray, 22 shuttle,
23 Shuttle supply module, 24 Shuttle return module,
25 shuttle transport module, 25a transport base, 25b lifting base,
26 Transfer means, 27 Securing means,
28 Temporary bottom plate lifter, 29 Shuttle lifter,
30 Temporary bottom plate, 31 Shuttle tray, 32 Through hole, 33 Connecting piece,
34 Root frame,
35 filling base,
35a short holding block, 35b long holding block, 35c long holding block,
35d sealing block,
36 joint, 37 suction hole,
100 Insertion molding means, 101 Bending ruler, 102 Bending unit,
103 unit advance/retract means, 104 unit lift means,
105 Box-raising adhesive discharge means,
106 servo actuator,
200 Lifting frame, 201 Running base,
202 Base lifting means, 203 Guide frame,
204 Lower end side flap forming means, 205 Lower middle side flap forming means,
206 Underflap forming means, 207 Bottom flap forming means,
208 sealing adhesive discharge means, 209 support piece, 210 support means,

Claims (6)

In a box-making device for forming a flat blank sheet into a box shape,
a box-making means including a forming base for holding the blank sheets and a forming head for forming the blank sheets held by the forming base;
the forming base is provided with a holding means for sucking and releasing the blank sheet in each region ;
The forming head is provided with guide blocks that support each side surface from the inside when the box is being made, and the forming head rolls on the forming base , successively adsorbing areas of the blank sheet that are released from adsorption to the forming base while raising the box. The carton erecting means includes a sealing means for sealing an opening of the carton erected by the carton erecting means,
The packaging box making device according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing means includes a forming roller that advances and retreats while applying pressure in the folding direction to the forming area of the blank sheet on the guide block, and an adhesive means that applies adhesive to the adhesive area where the forming area is folded over. The forming head supports a plurality of guide blocks in an arrangement that supports the side surfaces of the carton from the inside after the carton is formed;
3. The box-making device for packaging boxes according to claim 1, wherein the holding surface of the guide block is provided with suction holes for suctioning and releasing the rear surface of the blank sheet. The molding base includes a plurality of base blocks arranged in accordance with the arrangement of each side surface of the blank sheet,
4. The box-making device for packaging boxes according to claim 1, wherein the support surface of the base block is provided with suction holes for suctioning and releasing the blank sheet from its surface. a sheet holder for positioning and stocking a plurality of blank sheets in the same orientation; and a carrier for securing the topmost blank sheet of the sheet holder, transporting the secured blank sheet to the forming base, and placing the transported blank sheet in a fixed position on the forming base,
5. The packaging box making device according to claim 1, wherein the carrier is provided with a gripping means for suctioning the blank sheet placed in a fixed position and releasing it in each region as the blank sheet suctions onto the forming base. The packaging box manufacturing device according to claim 5, characterized in that the gripping means includes a peeling means for curving or bending the blank sheet after securing the blank sheet from the sheet holder.

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